Got schooled on hydrangeas at a wedding in Asheville

I was doing the flowers for a big wedding at the Biltmore last weekend, and the head gardener saw me dunking the hydrangea stems in hot water (like I always do). He quietly said, 'Try ice water next time, they hold up better in the heat.' I switched a few stems to ice water as a test, and by the end of the night, they looked way fresher than the others. Has anyone else found a better trick for keeping hydrangeas from wilting fast?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.nora23h ago

Wait, does the ice water trick work for other flowers too? I saw a florist on tiktok say you can also cut the stems and dunk just the heads in cold water for a few minutes.

elizabeths5123h ago

Wow, I've even revived drooping hydrangeas by submerging the whole bloom in cool water overnight.

hannah_perry13h ago

So I've been boiling my hydrangeas like pasta this whole time? That explains a lot.